Originally published February 2 2004
Synthetic antioxidants can't compare with natural antioxidants found in
superfoods and sea vegetables
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
I offer a mixed response to this news that scientists at Vanderbilt have
synthesized new and powerful antioxidants that are much stronger than
vitamin E. Generally speaking, I applaud research into any substance or
nutritional supplement that can help people live healthier, happier
lives. But in this case, while these newly constructed antioxidants may
be found to be extremely useful when applied to industrial uses, I don't
think this offers much to human beings in terms of nutritional
supplements that are any better than what nature has already provided.
For one thing, vitamin E is not a strong antioxidant to begin with.
There are many comparable antioxidants such as vitamin C, and even far
stronger ones such as compounds found in green tea, beta-carotene,
lutein, and pycnogenol, which is derived from the pine tree.
Secondly, the antioxidants created by these researchers have unnatural
molecular structures that may turn out to be hazardous -- not helpful --
to human health. So far, all the tests have been done in test tubes
only.
Finally, you don't need a lab to create antioxidants for
health when there's an abundance of substances from nature that already
contain powerful antioxidants. My favorite sources are chlorella, green
tea, spirulina, and sea vegetables like sea kelp and seaweed. If you
want powerful antioxidants, look to superfoods grown in fresh water or
salt water, not to laboratories.
We have taken a very big step in the right direction," says Ned A.
Porter, the Stevenson Chair of Chemistry at Vanderbilt.
So far, the new antioxidants have been tested "in vitro"-in the test
tube.
But studies with biological molecules, such as cholesterol, suggest
that the new compounds have properties that could make them suitable for
dietary supplements.
The approach that led to the new antioxidants was the idea of
Vanderbilt graduate student Derek Pratt: "The summer before I came to
Vanderbilt, I was at a conference in New Hampshire where several
presentations dealt with antioxidants.
In order to assess their effectiveness as antioxidants, the Vanderbilt
chemists sent samples to Luca Valgimigli in Professor G. F. Pedulli's
lab at the University of Bologna.
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